The Place of Spiritual Growth in the Christian Life (part seven)

Views Lofty and Low has become Now, Then and Not Yet. It's simply a title change. The new title pretty

much covers everything in life. You can interpret it anyway you want. The purpose of the blog remains the same. In the old title, the word "lofty" always bugged me because readers may have thought I was egotistically referring to myself as a lofty thinker with lofty views. In truth, lofty referred to the things of God, not me. The "low" referred to me and you. Although, there is a sense in which Christians are lofty in God's sight. Ah, this leads nicely into today's topic: reconciliation.

A few posts back, I began writing about four significant results of the Gospel in the life of the Christian: propitiation, justification, reconciliation, and regeneration. As mentioned earlier, these four truths are covered in greater detail in Robert S. McGee's book, The Search for Significance. Also, my ideas may not represent exactly what McGee has written, so don't blame him for my wacky musings.

We've briefly covered the first two results of the Gospel. In a sense, each causes the other. Propitiation (Christ bearing God's wrath as a substitute for us) caused justification (God imputing Christ's righteousness to us in exchange for our sin). And because we are justified, we are now reconciled to God. At some point we'll discuss regeneration, which some Calvinists believe occurs first in the sequence of conversion. But in essence, all four happen at the moment someone invites Christ into their heart.

Actually, Christ's death of propitiation happened 2000 years ago, but it doesn't affect someone's life until they believe the truth of the Gospel and are converted. Unbelievers are described as being under God's wrath: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." (Romans 1:18). This is why it is crucial for unbelievers to believe in Jesus, who is the Truth, so God's wrath will be averted from their lives.

Reconciliation is relational at its core. Propitiation and justification are rigidly legal. We could not be brought back into a reconciled relationship with God unless Christ first died for our sins, thus imputing His righteousness to us. Because our sins have been completely atoned for, we can now enter into a beautiful relationship with God.

The old Jewish temple (which once stood in Jerusalem) offers a great illustration of reconciliation. The temple consisted of an outer room, where the sacrificial altar was. This led to a second room called the Holy Place, which led to a third room, the Most Holy Place, aka Holy of Holies. A tall, thick curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Once a year, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies (where God's presence dwelt).

In Jerusalem, on the day Christ died on the cross, something amazing happened inside the actual temple. "And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split." (Matthew 27:50-51)

The tearing of the curtain had great significance. For one thing, it marked the end of the old covenant, which was based on animal sacrifices. Also, it meant that there was no longer a barrier separating God from humanity. We all could now enter into the Holy of Holies because of Christ's sacrifice for us. All who place their faith in Him become priests who can enter the Most Holy Place, which is God's presence. Hebrews 10 sheds light on this: "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of  faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Actually, the whole idea of the temple underwent a drastic change due to Christ's death and resurrection. The old temple in Jerusalem became obsolete and was actually destroyed in 70 AD and never rebuilt. The physical bodies of Christians are now the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:19-20). God dwells within the body of the church as a whole, as well as within the body of each Christian.

This means that Christians are perfectly and wonderfully reconciled to God. He dwells in each of our hearts individually and among us corporately. As the above Hebrews verse states, "...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

We are perfectly reconciled to God and totally accepted by Him. This is the foundation of the Christian's personal relationship with the Lord. It's not based on our performance or good deeds, but on Christ's finished work on the cross. Also, reconciliation is not based on a feeling of His presence. Rather, it's based on His actual presence inside our hearts. We walk by faith, not by feelings. But if you happen to feel Him in your heart, that's awesome.

Propitiation, justification and reconciliation were applied to each Christian at conversion. These  Gospel truths prove that God loves us, is pleased with us, and completely accepts us. They form the Christian's identity in Christ right now.

What does this have to do with spiritual growth? By knowing who we are now (our wonderful identity in Christ), we can more effectively undergo spiritual growth based on a healthy "now" relationship with God. First things first.

Next blog post: regeneration.